How did you become involved in show jumping?
ZA: I used to race Formula Fords and Formula Russells when I was at Pepperdine University in California and when I couldn’t renew my license for medical reasons I had to find something else with thrill and adrenaline. That’s when I started riding since you don’t have to have a license for that!
Who did you go to in order to make this rather dramatic sporting transition into show jumping?
ZA: I trained with Bernie and Christine Traurig for about five years and I attribute a lot of what I have learned about the sport, about horsemanship and about riding to them. They really taught me everything about the sport from the ground up.
When you started riding with Bernie was it just for the fun of it? Did you have goal?
ZA: I started with the hope of representing Saudi Arabia in international competition – that was the goal – at least in my own mind – it was a mad idea!